DIY Migraine Cold Therapy Bags Made From Socks

I once had someone tell me “I don’t know if I’ve ever had a migraine before”. My response? “You’d know if you had.”

For anyone who suffers from migraines you know just how awful they can be and the many, varying symptoms that come along with them like nausea or blurry vision. And what’s worse is that they happen anywhere, anytime. When mine comes on, I find that a cool cloth and a little lie down in a dark room work best. I mean, I could try to work or get on with my life but nothing good ever comes of it. I even had to lay down in a public restroom at a little theater when I was a teen and one struck during the 20th or 30th time we sang “The Wells Fargo Wagon”. Well everyone else sang, I was asked to lip it as I was just there to dance up front. 🙂 I like to think of my migraines as little, forced mini-vacations. Okay, I don’t but trying to look at the positive side of things never hurt anybody, right?

You may have seen the therapy bags I made here on Mom Spark last year… Those were the more traditional, pillow-like version and those can be used as either hot or cold therapy bags, so head on over there if that’s more what you’re looking for.

These little guys are just big enough to cross your forehead and across your temples and are made from a lady’s knee-high sock. Let’s quit talking about them and make a few already:

For this project you will need:

• Knee-high socks
• Filler – rice or flax work well for this particular bag
• Lavender essential oil of choice (optional)
• Needle and thread OR sewing machine

Take your socks and cut them just above the heel.

Turn inside out and sew straight across nearby the cut you just made. I stitched twice to have a super-strong seam.  Trim the ragged edge if necessary and turn them right side out.

You really don’t need to mix your lavender and rice together in a bowl, but I did so you can see it a bit better. I actually would just take a pinch of lavender (you don’t want tons because lots of people with migraines become very sensitive to smell) and pour in a bit of rice, I’d say about 1/4 cup.

Dangle the sock to push all of the rice to the end and then sew a partition about 1/3 of the way from the end to keep the rice in place and prevent having a lopsided rice-filled sock on your head!

Continue filling with rice and sewing a partition about 2/3 in and then the final segment, sewing shut near the existing hem of the sock.

The first one I made is in the front and I partitioned right in the middle It works out okay but not great. I’d really suggest the therapy bag with the three segments. Toss these bags into a gallon-sized freezer bag to keep from getting any of the strange fridge smells and they’ll be ready to go for your next migraine. Do NOT put these in the microwave to heat as you would other bags because there are unnatural fibers in the fabric of these socks. If you need to heat yours, you’ll need to look for socks that are 100% cotton.

These make great stocking stuffers and breaking the cost down they’re also really, affordable. I paid $1.98 for 2 pairs of socks, $0.98 for a bag of brown rice, $2.38 for lavender in the soap-making section. So, for $5.34 I can make 4. BUT, I still have enough rice and lavender to make, oh, maybe 15 more.

Allison

A crafter since her earliest years, Allison spends a little time every day making something. She crafts, sews, paints, glues things onto other things, and is a firm believer that a life spent creating is a life worth living. Visit Allison’s blog, Dream {a Little} BIGGER.